Protests continue in Madison over collective bargaining rights

February 20, 2011

Produced by Associated Press

Dozens of protesters are gathering in the Wisconsin Capitol before a noon Sunday rally that's expected to attract thousands of opponents of Gov. Scott Walker's plan to eliminate most collective bargaining rights for public employees.

Protestors have been at the Capitol for six days, and nearly 70,000 turned out for Saturday's rallies for and against the bill.

Some protestors are sitting in the Capitol rotunda plotting their Sunday strategy. Others are still curled up in sleeping bags throughout the building.

Jacob Cedillotootalian is a 27-year-old University of Wisconsin-Madison teaching assistant. He slept under a coat rack on the Capitol's second floor hallway and says it's the third night he's spent there. The English instructor says normalcy would be nice, but he doesn't see an end to the stalemate over union rights.

Governor Walker said the state Senate Democrats who fled the state to delay voting on a sweeping anti-union bill need to come back to Wisconsin and do their jobs.

He told Fox News on Sunday that if Democrats want to participate in democracy they need to be in the arena, not hiding out.

Walker's bill would require government workers to contribute more to their health care and pension costs. It would also largely eliminate their collective bargaining rights.